Come play, explore and discover this winter
As the cold, dreary days of winter wraps their tendrils around us, we hibernate away in the warmth of our homes like a bear in her den and wait for spring’s cheery arrival. During those one off, bright sunny winter days we emerge to enjoy the beauty of that gorgeous day. Re-energized we settle back to the warmth of our home and wait out winter’s release on us.
But there is no reason to hunker down for the duration of winter when there is so much to see and do in this beautiful city and the surrounding areas that we live in. Dress for the weather, pack the kids in the car and head out to a community museum, art gallery, interpretation or cultural centre near you. For ease of writing I will refer to these centres as museums for the remainder of the article.
Some of you may be saying, “Are you crazy! Take my kids to a museum.” But before you dismiss the thought, community museums are a lot smaller than their big city neighbours and therefore will hold their “short” attention span for the duration of the visit. Your kids will get a sense of history, culture, and environment through these visits and the great thing; it will not cost an arm and leg.
Like the Fraser River Discovery Centre, most community museums are run by non-profit organizations and their admission policies are “by donation”. Especially after the holiday season this is a nice relief on the wallet. Do keep in mind, that these donations help keep the doors open for visitors, so give what you can as every little bit helps.
Here at the Discovery Centre families will discover interesting facts about the Mighty Fraser River through fun hands-on interactive exhibits. Together you can learn about the Fraser River white sturgeon that lives on the Fraser’s muddy bottom, or dig through a simulated archaeological dig and uncover artifacts from the river’s shores. With our popular Pollution Model, kids can take turns being polluters, just for the day, and find out where these toxins go after a typical west coast rainy day. Visit our interactive Plants Alive! exhibit for loads of activities that engage young minds and hands with the world of native plants. Wrap up your visit with a film in our Canyon Theatre. No matter what the age, there is something for everyone.
The Discovery Zone's Wishing Tree & new puppet theatre
So shake off winter’s cloak and come down to the river and check out what the Discovery Centre is all about or take a visit to a neighbouring community museum this winter. You will be pleasantly surprised at what you discover!
Something fishy is going on!
Did you know that the Fraser River Discovery Centre offers birthday parties for kids? There are two options to choose from: a fish-themed party for 3-5 year olds and an archaeological adventure for 6-10 year olds.
To launch the birthday parties, we celebrated George’s birthday at the Discovery Center last week and are preparing a second birthday bash at the River District Centre on Saturday, November 26th, from 1:00-2:30pm.
The star of the show is George, a 1-meter long sturgeon puppet. During the puppet show, George is hanging out at the bottom of the river waiting for a salmon, his favourite food, to swim by. Today he is sad because it’s his birthday and he hasn’t got any family or friends to celebrate with him. Why not? Well, sturgeon are endangered which means that there aren’t that many of them in the Fraser River.
A clever salmon swims by and escapes being George’s lunch but overhears that he is sad and lonely on his birthday. She decides that this special fish deserves a party on one condition…all the animals who attend the party have to bring lots of food so that George isn’t hungry again for a very long time. And so the stage is set for the surprise party.
This fish-themed party includes crafts and fishy party games like “go-fish” and “pin the barbels on the sturgeon” and of course a visit with George!
For more information, visit www.fraserriverdiscovery.org or call the Fraser River Discovery Centre at 604-521-8401. Please check out the FRDC website soon for more information about booking birthday parties at the Fraser River Discovery Centre.
The River District Centre, located in southeast Vancouver at 8683 Kerr Street, is a dual purpose space that showcases plans for the 130 acre River District project and also focuses on building community through special events and activities. Built by and managed by developer ParkLane Homes, it is open to the public daily from 11am to 6pm.
What Happens When You Flush?
I recently set up a tour of the Annacis Island Water Treatment plant for volunteers as an opportunity to keep learning about topics that are relevant to the Fraser River Discovery Centre. I was unable to attend, but the volunteers said it was extremely informative and the tour guide was fantastic.
Mike Hoyer, one of the volunteers, wrote a blog about the trip:
Ten volunteers at the Fraser River Discovery Center recently went to see the Annacis Island Waste and Water Treatment Plant. There are 5 such plants around Vancouver, servicing all the effluent which collects here. Each of the homeowners in Greater vancouver contributes about $280 annually in taxes to run these services.
Coming in via underground pipe from all over the city, the water passes a screen which takes out all the
rocks, rags, plastic and other large debris which seems to make it down the toilet or sewers. This goes to landfill sites. My parents being environmentally minded in the 1950′s had three old oak casks from wine making and we used them to collect rainwater. Just imagine what could be saved if we all did this. I used to paint the things all sorts of colors every year and we were known for our multi-colored rain barrels.
The water then passes through a second filter where grit – coffee grinds, sand, and other particles are removed. Grit also goes to landfill. Metro wants to educate people on what should and should not go down a water drain.
The sludge settles to the bottom and the scum floats to the top. This is removed and goes to a digester where bacteria is renders it harmless, a by-product, methane gas, is used to generate heat and electricity (co-generation) used by the plant.
There are huge trickling filters which consumes organic material clings to filters. All those oils, soaps, chemicals, garburator and dishwasher waste should have been removed by now.
More scum which is siphoned off and redistributed to previous stages for collection.
At this stage, the clarifiers, the water is starting to look good. At each stage it is tested daily to meet
certain government criterion for bacteria, and other contents. One drop of motor oil contaminates 50 liters of water, making it uninhabitable for aquatic vegetation and animal life.
We are talking 440 billion liters of water a year passing through these systems. Water fit for human use is sent into the river, well below the river in pipes which slowly let it percolate back to the running river.
Left over organic solid material is picked up by trucks in the lower half and distributed to golf courses, land reclamation projects and wherever it is useful for life.
This is one of the chlorinator stations which balance the waters pH and other chemical levels to acceptable animal levels. It takes about 60 people to run this monstrosity in daylight, keeping eyes on the controls and levels and maintaining the system with repairs and regular check-ups. Just getting around the whole place took us nearly 3 hours. We had a very knowledgeable and enthusiastic guide – something we all can learn from in our roles as interpreters at the Discovery Center.
And the madness continues….
Okay who stole September? It feels like yesterday we were working out the details of activities for September and now it’s October. Before you know it we will be singing Christmas carols and shovelling snow.
September was been a hive of activities at the Discovery Centre. There have been volunteers to recruit and train, school programs to prepare, community events to attend, exhibits to open, the hosting of our annual Artists on the River
Activities on the boardwalk during our 8th Annual Artists on the River festival
festival and one heck of a party at Hell’s Gate Airtram to honour Fraser River Raft Expeditions as this year’s inductee into the Fraser River Hall of Fame.
With all that behind us it is time to breathe….or so I thought! October and November are looking very, very busy here at the Discovery Centre.
I f you haven’t seen the Brewer’s Gold exhibition yet now is your chance. On loan from the Chilliwack Museum and Archives until October 29, this wonderful exhibition interweaves the history and science of hop growing with stories of the people who made this industry one of the largest agricultural employers in British Columbia. So pop in for a visit before it is dismantled and shipped back.
Luyi our Exhibit Coordinator has been focussed on the creation of our next exhibit and will begin its installation into the space vacated by Brewer’s Gold. Discovery Zone is scheduled to open at the end of November so be sure to visit before the Christmas rush for some fun family time.
Education Coordinator Shannon has been busy creating birthday party programs that are sure to entertain and capture the children’s imagination. In celebration of George, the Centre’s White Sturgeon’s birthday, we will be hosting our first birthday party – It’s O-fish-al. Drop in on Saturday November 5, from 11:30 to 2:30pm to wish George HB’day and check out all the fun and great activities that we will be doing.
As for Catherine and myself, our focus will be on the upcoming Hall of Fame Gala and the “official” induction of Fraser River Raft Expeditions into the Hall of Fame. As the Discovery Centre’s only fundraising we rely on the communities along the Fraser River for support through donations of auction items and purchase of tickets. Can we count on you?
For further details about these and other upcoming events and programs, please check our website www.fraserriverdiscovery.org or join our Facebook page for regular notifications. Until then…see you by the river!
In our volunteers words…
One of my favorite things about my job is watching kids eyes light up during our school programs. They get so excited about discovering new things and always come up with great questions and new ways of thinking about the topics. I love their energy!
I also feel very lucky that I get to work with a great team of volunteers called Docents, who lead students through our school program activities. We are currently seeking more school program volunteers for our fall school programs at the Discovery Centre. So I asked the current docents why they like this role and what they would say to others who might be interested in joining the team. Here are a few of their responses:
I’ve been volunteering at the FRDC for just over two years. It’s my third volunteering “job” since retiring, and I highly recommend getting involved this way – especially post-retirement – for a great many reasons.
It seems to me that all of us who volunteer say that we get more from volunteering than we give to it. There’s a wonderful feeling of satisfaction in “giving back” to our communities … you definitely learn new things … meeting new people is a real bonus … and if you’re seeking friends, volunteering is the perfect place to go.
I’m working as a docent at the FRDC, which gives me a chance to be with and teach children – meet their teachers and parents – and pass along the FRDC’s message of caring for the Fraser River, and all those who live in it and work on and by it. I always leave a shift at the FRDC feeling invigorated and happily satisfied.
As they say – try it – you’ll like it!
Enid McBurney – FRDC volunteer since 2009
I like to keep busy, and being a retired teacher/administrator, I can have the opportunity to do what I love without the administrative hassle. (We’ll leave that to Shannon!!! J )
Seeing kids grasp what the Fraser River is all about, the history, the environment, and the potential it has for
all of us in BC makes being a docent enjoyable.
Working with other volunteers is also a good way of connecting in the community. Besides, it makes you an “expert” in things in your own back yard.
What a community resource. Recently, I had opportunity to share about the river with tourists from Australia, Britain, Germany and America – thanks to the training I had at FRDC.
Mike Hoyer – FRDC Volunteer since 2004
Although I’m now retired, I originally chose to volunteer at the Fraser River Discovery Centre to get involved in something totally different from my working life.
The Fraser River, from its heady start at Mount Robson, it’s slow meander past Prince George, it’s gushing torrent through Hell’s Gate to its slow progress as it broadens out to the estuary, has such a variety of stories to tell us.
This is one of the reasons I became a docent. As a docent I believe my role is to encourage the children to ask questions and to feel a real connection to the information we’re giving them. The hands–on activities help to get the messages across.
If we can make even the tiniest change as to how students view the river, the environment and the world around them, I think we’ve been successful.
Vivienne Garrott – FRDC Volunteer Since 2001
If these stories pique your interest, we are holding an orientation on Thursday September 8th from 1-2:30 p.m. We’ll start with a short overview of the school programs, and then you’ll get to try out the pollution model, archaeology station, and sturgeon survival game to see how much fun being a Docent can be!
